Police dispatcher accused of having 65 lbs. of pot in home arrested

CLAREMONT, N.C. — Former Hickory police dispatcher Victoria Yang was arrested after she was accused of having 65 pounds of high-grade marijuana in her home.

Narcotics officers arrested her husband Blong Ly Yang earlier in the week after executing a search warrant at his home in the 4600 block of Belvedere Drive in Claremont.

Blong Ly Vang was arrested after police found 65 pounds of marijuana in his Catawba County home.

(Blong Ly Yang)

Police said the Yangs allowed them to search the home, but revoked consent after three pounds of marijuana was found.

Authorities said they then applied for a warrant and conducted a second search of the home.

Investigators said they first discovered several pounds of high-grade marijuana in the couple's bedroom and master bath. They said the rest of the pots was in storage containers in other rooms of the home.

Officers said a handgun reported stolen from Georgia was also found, along with digital scales, a vacuum sealer and another weapon.

The marijuana had a collective weight of about 65 pounds and a minimum street value of $130,000, police said. Investigators said they believe it was grown in California or Colorado and then shipped to North Carolina.

“An operation this size is not someone sitting around their home with a ‘smoke bag,’” Capt. Reid said. “This has a low-end street value of over $130,000. Our drug investigators continue to remain relentless on the distribution of controlled substances in our community.”

Reporter Dave Faherty asked if Victoria Yang helped drug dealers through her position at the police department.

"We do have confidential informants that we keep very confidential and protected,” Capt. Jason Reid said. “And we want to make sure that she didn't access their names through any database. We don't have any information that proves that she was. We just want to make sure she wasn't."

Blong Ly Yang has been charged with one felony count of trafficking marijuana by possession, one felony count of possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, one felony count of maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances, one felony count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and one felony count of possession of a stolen firearm.

[IMAGES: 65 pounds of high-grade pot found inside dispatcher's home]

Blong Ly Yang is being held at the Catawba County Detention Facility under a $250,000 secured bond.

Hickory police told Channel 9 that Victoria Yang is no longer employed with their department and that an internal investigation is underway. Investigators said they are trying to determine if she used her position to help in the operation.

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